Sushi Sugoi

The first time I went to Sushi Sugoi was in March 2014, shortly after it first opened. At the time, the place was still working out a few kinks and the food took a while to come. I also found out that the owners were most likely Korean, as most of the staff spoke Korean amongst themselves.

We were given hot towels on this first visit, but they have done away with this in subsequent lunch visits. I think they still offer hot towels during dinner time though.

The sashimi bento ($15) was a good price for lunch, and consisted of miso soup, salad, fruit, sashimi, tempura, teriyaki chicken, and a bowl of rice. The salad and fruit were very fresh, but the rest of the food was just average. The teriyaki chicken, in particular, was rather disappointing in its rubbery texture and lack of flavour.

I also ordered two "special rolls": the Fiji Island and Magma, both of which seem to have been removed from their menu, and perhaps for good reason. I found both rolls to be below average, bland, and lacking flavour. The rice was loosely packed and fell apart easily. The Fiji Island roll ($15) below was supposed to have pineapple as a filling, and I thought the chef had forgotten it, but it turned out there was only one tiny piece of pineapple in the whole roll.

The Magma roll ($17) was supposed to have hot sauce, but it was not in the least bit spicy. (And I'm quite sensitive to spiciness.) It also lacked flavour despite the seemingly abundance of sauce on the plate, since the filling ingredients were bland and not seasoned at all.

The best dish of the visit was the truffle oil sampler nigiri ($18). Nigiri is where Sushi Sugoi shines because their fish is usually very fresh. However, I was disappointed in the lack of variety since I had expected 6 different types of fish instead of only 3 for the price of $18.

Due to the general disappointment in this first visit, I did not return for a few months. But after some coworkers brought me here for lunch again, I have been quite pleased with the nigiri sushi. The fish is fresh, the portions are decent, and the prices are reasonable. Also, they have improved on the rice and it is no longer loosely packed. So I have been back several times since, and I always order the nigiri.